Hero Cat Saves California Boy From Dog Attack

This California toddler is certainly going to be a cat person for the rest of his life.

A 4-year-old from Bakersfield was attacked by a dog on Tuesday, but his family's feline quickly came to the rescue and saved the day.

And it was all captured on video.

In a YouTube post titled, "A Cat Saved My Son," first you see the boy riding his bike by his home's driveway, when a dog comes from around a parked SUV and grabs at his leg, seemingly trying to drag the tot away.

In a flash, the family cat races toward the pooch and attacks, scaring it off and giving chase.

In the YouTube post, Roger Triantafilo, the boy's father, says, "My cat defends my son during a vicious dog attack and runs the dog off before he can do additional damage. Thankfully, my son is fine!"

The boy's mother, Erica Triantafilo, told NBC affiliate KGET that she was outside at the time and when she tried to chase the dog further away, it bit her, too.

The boy received 10 stitches at a local hospital, she said. He is now home recovering.

First published May 14 2014, 11:20 AM

Hasani Gittens

Hasani Gittens is a Senior News Editor at NBCNews.com. Gittens, a WNBC veteran, joined NBCNews.com in January 2013. Before that he worked at The Daily â€” News Corp's short-lived "iPad newspaper" â€” where he spent two years also as a news editor.

Prior to that, he worked at WNBC as the managing editor of the station's website, and even longer ago he spent eight years as a reporter and eventually an editor for the New York Post.